A young Jewish American man endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village, that was ultimately razed by the Nazis, with the help of an eccentric local...

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Even without subtitles and having over half the dialog in Russian I still enjoyed this movie. The imagery was beautifully done and the story, at least what I could make out, was intriguing. The ending was a bit sad and yet uplifting in how it showed how truly small this world is. 8/10

I saw this a few weeks ago and it is still on my mind. The quirky sense of humor and the sweet story really grabbed me and held my attention for the entire film. First time director Liev Shreiber has a good touch and I am looking forward to his next film. In EII, Wood plays a "collector" named Jonathan who puts items in ziplock bags in order to " not forget". He has eyeglasses, dentures, report cards, etc. that he places on his wall for each member of his family. Except for one part of the wall that is blank, his grandfather's. In order to find out about his deceased grandfather, he books a trip to the Ukraine to find the now destroyed village where his grandfather grew up in to try to find a connection to his family history. All he has are his bags, his HUGE Buddy Holly type glasses and an old photo of his grandfather with a woman. When he meets his tour guides is when the movie really takes off. Eugene Hutz is Alex, a fast-talking, hip-hop obsessed tour guide who hilariously mispronounces every English word he says. This joke could have gotten old quick in the hands on a lesser director and actor, but it stayed fresh throughout this film. I mean, this man butchers the English language like no one I have ever seen. He brings along his own Gradfather, a crusty, anti-semtic gruff old man who wants to come along to this village for his own private reasons. All in all, this is one of the best flicks I have seen in awhile and I am glad to see Elijah Wood continuing to take on difficult roles.

I rented Everything is Illuminated after hearing good things from a friend. It was a good decision. Liev Schreiber does a fine job translating the book to the screen and he shows the potential of being a terrific filmmaker. Elijah Wood does good work as Jonathan, but the fim is carried by the two Russian actors. It is extremely quirky, and Schreiber has a fine touch with the balancing of comedy and drama. Thumbs up.

The film which all art students have been waiting for. College, High School, or just as Hobby will be enough for you to get a kick out of this film. The mockery and making fun of how the world of art really works.

From the creators of Ghost World Terry Zwigoff draws a group of new and old actors to develop that wonderful chemistry of how the person can play the role the director wants rather than slapping a known name on the front. Which is the best method of Zwigoff since the terribly known Bad Santa comedy which I haven't seen yet so I have to go on word of mouth and reviews.

Zwigoff has Max Minghella star as Jerome. A loser art kid from the start of his life. We zip through his elementry and college life and plant right into college were he goes to an Art College. Then he manages to get such a talented actress in Sophia Myles to conteract Max Minghella as the girl of his dreams. Sophia has played in many TV roles and From Hell, Underworld 1 & 2, and Triston + Isoldle. So she is a well balanced actress to be tossed into this comedy.

The rest of the majority tends to be built around the Star of the film to help him improove. With names like John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich), Jim Broadbent (The Borrowers), Micharl Lerner (Godzilla), and Anjelica Huston (Adams Family Values). So the freshly drawn in Max Minghella had plenty of advice and he prooved well.

The begining is so hysterical for most people but however the further the film goes the less art you have taken the more jokes you won't get. However it is still enjoyable all the way through even for someone numb to the subject. Which is allways a plus since its not hard to figure alot of these things out in the first place.

You have excellent acting for the characters with enough humor to make it through a couple popcorn buckets with extra butter and your diet coke. Hmm, or was that the guy sitting in front of me. All well, it was a good film and it should end up in my collection. But on the last note it has a Teen Film vibe to it. For a word of caution.

Venom

Have you ever seen on of those films that someone had a cool idea but messed it up upon all belief? (That's a Retorical Question). Well this is one of those films. Eat up the idea and watch how crappy it is. The acting is basically state what your thinking out loud in a paniced state of mind to help figure out what the other person should be doing instead of running like hell. Plus any of the chase scenes are crap. But some decent gore for a suck-o-rama film. This film at best is for Mystery Science Theater 3000 style viewing. You watch it, and make fun of it.

I'd talk about the acting, but... it's not much to talk about. However the director is Jim Gillespie which made Joy Ride and I Know What You Did Last Summer (He didn't do I Still Know...) if that tells you anything. It told me something, cheap low budget horror film with an excellant idea gone wrong yet again.

By the way, my advise for this film is not to see it. Just in case you didn't get the message.

Everything Is Illuminated

Were to start with this film. Ellijah Wood and Eugene Hutz are wonderful in this film. This is one of those rare films which go under the radar and is so brilliantly done. The cinematography was wonderful, the acting was superb, the comedy was sarcastic yet hysterical mixed with all the emotions a drama should have.

Belive it or not but the actor Liev Schreiber directed this masterpiece of what I call Joy. He has been in films from the Scream Triology to the up comming release of the new Omen. He knows his stuff ladies and gentlemen. He might not be the best actor in the planet but he know it thats for sure. This film is proof possitive alone.

However since I'm holding my tung on not revealing too much about the film and just telling you how much I liked it and why you should see it I'm going to tell you the basic plot. A man which is obssesed with his family hystery follows his Jewish roots back to the Ukraine and takes a wild journey with two guides through the Ukraine in search of where his family hystory and complete knowledge on the one family member he knew the least. Little does he know however his odd ball company and their demented dog will soon find new bonds even with a culture difference.

The biggest problem however with this film is the fact that it tries to be funny in the start but serious in the end. It's too much of a change and you start feeling bi-polar when you think about the entire film at once. But just mabye that is why everything is illuminated. You will eventually find out why things are allways so bright.

This movie was bought used in order to get the 3/$25 deal at Hollywood Video.

Wow, I have never really disagreed THIS MUCH on critic/user reviews as I do on this movie.

Oh, god, it was SO BORING! It was basically a road trip movie trying to be independent and arty but miserably failing. Elijah Wood did a decent job, and there were some funny moments during translations with the people driving him around. There was a memorable dinner scene moment involving a potato that I can't forget. However, it's really sad that all I remember from this movie (and I just watched it last week) is that there was a potato and lots of driving in it.

There was one part, towards the end, involving a flashback to Nazi Germany that was done very well. However, when a movie is about an eccentric young man who collects objects from his family members, and he's going out to find the woman who saved his father during Nazi Germany, you're thinking, "ooooh, great! Eccentricity and Nazi stuff - this will be a great dark comedy". It's not...it's like an hour and a half long, but I swear it felt longer than Gone With the Wind. It felt like it was five hours long.

Horrible. The jokes were amusing, but the film dragged on and on and on. I have NO IDEA why it got such good reviews. I think I like pretty decent movies (points to top ten list), but I mean...maybe I missed something with this one? It just should have been so much better. It had an awesome premise, but it just...gah. I don't get why people loved it.

a weird artsy movie about dirvoce starring the odd pick of jeff danniels who was very good ,the movie was incitful ,funny and just odd at times i loved it -8-........................................................Btk killer handy cam movie enough said- 0-..............................................................family stone just like any other movie were a girl goes meets the fam and it turns out bad and blah blah blah blah i promise you have seen this all before and you dont have to again -1-....................................everything is illuminated a odd art house movie starring eliugh woods this movie as about a jewish man who takes a road trip to the ukraine to find a women who saved this gandfather ,this movie had a couple funny moments but by the half mark to gets lost and boring something that wont be soon forgeten but something i will never watch again -5-

Liev Schreiber's directorial debut is assured and nothing short of brilliant. It's a given that the source material is far more vast and the book covers a lot more ground and is maybe more ambitious than this relatively short film. But I argue that this matters very little when we are judging a film!

Ok. So Elijah Wood plays the young Jewish Jonathan who travels to the Ukraine in search for answers of his family history; specifically looking for a woman who he thinks saved his grandfather from the Nazis. He is greeted there by culture-vulture Alex who has a warped sense of what the west is like, and his anti-semitic grandfather.

The story then unfolds essentially as a road movie. The characterisation is impeccable and along with the acting, an especially dissarming turn from the grandfather, lends itself to a film that packs a heavy emotional punch. One of the final scenes stays with you all the way home and I assure you my eyes were not dry as the final credits rolled.

The film might (unfortunately) get most of its audience from LOTR fans who want to see 'Frodo'. But here Wood is so far from that, it's brilliant to see a young actor making the transition to more adult material. His character is played down perfectly in contrast to the louder Ukranian, Alex.

It is however through the brash Alex that the film really gets its 9/10 rating. He offers moments that are genuinely hilarious (as Jonathan's translator) and also moments that touch the heart. We understand his pain, a son who is beaten by his father and grandfather, and who eventually leaves the screen so transformed from the goof who we meet at first is the films quite brilliant focal point.

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A great movie with amazing knuckle-cracking when ever the characters move in overly dramatic fashion, full of deep characters who make sensible life choices and a villan you will NEVER see coming! Great fun! :)

It reminded me of when I used to watch goosebumps as a kid. A bit gory for my taste and not that original. But im sure younger kids wont fall asleep after watching this. Stephen Kings "it" did enough damage when I was 5.